State Police release report on Bob Carlson sex abuse investigation

AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- Maine State Police have been investigating Rev. Bob Carlson for sexual abuse allegations since November 2011, and kept the investigation open after his suicide off the Penobscot Narrows Bridge.

Police have released a 100-page document detailing at least 18 interviews and several accounts of abuse.

Police began investigating Carlson after an anonymous letter sent to the District Attorney, Maine State Police, and other agencies alleged he had abused a boy in the 1970s, and suggested Carlson had abused more people.

Carlson, who was a minister, chaplain, and founder of the Penobscot Community Health Care, committed suicide by jumping off of the Penobscot Narrows Bridge the day after he learned of the investigation in mid-November.

The Maine State Police Report does not include the names of the alleged victims and some of the interviewees, but does describe a number of sexual abuse allegations against the late pastor.

One source told police there were at least a half a dozen people that described sexual abuse at the hands of Carlson.

The source said at least two of the victims were Husson University student who were younger than 18 years old at the time of the alleged abuse.

The source said one of the victims reported the abuse to then Husson University President Bill Beardsley, who is now the Commissioner of the Department of Conservation.

The source said a third party reported the abuse of another student to Beardsley.

Beardsley told police he "at no time...had any information to suggest that anything unlawful or inappropriate" had happened.

Beardsley told police he received two phone calls around 2005 from people concerned about Carlson's behavior.

He said he met with Carlson about the phone calls, and Carlson resigned as Chaplain of Husson University in 2006.

Beardsley was not available for comment on Wednesday.

Husson University spokesperson Julie Green said, "As I understand it from what I've read, Commissioner Beardsley was contacted about some behaviors that occured years ago, he with Carlson and then Carlson resigned.

"We cannot speculate about what went on during a phone conversation between Commissioner Beardsley and an unnamed person. Beardsley made it clear he did not share that conversation with anyone else on the Husson campus.

"There have never been any allegations, let me repeat, there have never been any allegations that any abuse occurred here at Husson during Carlson's time at the University."

Other sources in the police report describe Carlson parking in dark areas of parking lots for 30 to 40 minutes at a time. On two occasions, sources told police there was a young child in the car with Carlson.

One person told police the alleged victims described a "grooming process that occurred...that monetary control or influence was part of Bob's control over some of the victims...that Bob would look over less fortunate in the community."

Police said they continued to investigate Rev. Carlson after his death because they wanted to give other potential victims to come forward and receive help.